Got Shingles? Then You're 50% More Likely To Get THIS Scary Illness, Too

The shingles vaccine can do more than limit or prevent a painful rash—it may save you from a stroke.

A recent study in Mayo Clinic Proceedings found people older than 50 have a 50% increased risk of stroke during the first 3 months after they develop shingles. (After those 3 months are up, you're in the clear, the study suggests.)

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These results should encourage lots of people to get the shingles vaccine, says Barbara P. Yawn, MD, lead author of the Mayo study and head of research at Minnesota's Olmsted Medical Center.

More than 95% of people across the globe carry the chickenpox virus, also known as the varicella-zoster virus (VZV). Shingles results when the VZV reactivates. One-third of us will experience shingles during our lifetimes.

The shingles-stroke connection

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Why would stroke be more common after a bout of shingles? Yawn says the inflammation that results from a shingles outbreak could set off a stroke.

Researchers from other countries have also examined the link between stroke and shingles. If you're over age 65, your risk for stroke—and also a heart attack—roughly doubles in the first week after a doctor diagnoses you with shingles, according to a study in PLOS Medicine. (Want to pick up some healthier habits? Sign up to get daily healthy living tips delivered straight to your inbox!)

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Yawn looked into the virus's ties to heart attack, but didn't find a significant increase in risk. "It's possible there was an association but we could not demonstrate it," she says.

Vaccinate now Yawn urges those over 50 to talk with their doctors about being vaccinated against shingles and its related health risks. "It looks like if we can prevent the [herpes] zoster from occurring, then we can prevent the stroke," she says.

Other experts agree, and say shingles is an underutilized vaccine.

"Not only do patients not know about the vaccine, but it seems to not be offered by doctors," says Martha Gulati, MD, a cardiologist at the University of Arizona.

The vaccine isn't perfect. But it reduces your risk for shingles by 51%, and also weakens your shingles symptoms even if you do develop the rash, Gulati says. Talk with your doctor. While it can cause a reaction in some, and may not be right for people with weakened immune systems, the vaccine could save your life.

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